Exodus 28:29-30

“So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the LORD continually.
“And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually.

We are living in a culture where the first reaction of the vast majority of human hearts, is to judge.

You and I, however, are called to live out the culture of the Kingdom. So, where does judgement sit in that culture?

Matthew 7:1-2 “Judge not, that you be not judged. “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

In secular culture Judgement is spoken or written.

Can I suggest that in the Kingdom judgement is not spoken or written, rather it is worn on our hearts as the breastplate of righteousness.

The word picture for judgement, in the context of the breastplate, is: God an all consuming fire, speaking concealed truth and potential good.

The word picture for Urim, in the context of the breastplate, is: insufficiency giving rise to expectation in the right hand of power, the connecting force between heaven and earth and the hand on the staff.

The word picture for Thummim, in the context of the breastplate, is: ratify covenant with the womb of God, the right hand of power, the hand on the staff. 

Hence, this breastplate containing the Urim and Thummim, becomes a filter over our hearts impacting all the words that we speak.

Ruth 4:14
And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.

The book of Ruth has only four chapters. Yet in this tiny book we find this Hebrew word go'el a total of ten times!!

In our English translations this word is rendered as kinsman or redeemer. However, in Hebrew it is one in the same word: go'el.

One of the word pictures behind go'el is: to lift up God.

Another word picture we discover in go'el is: continuity and governmental perfection in the house of the power of the covenant.

This latter word picture is both amplified and explained by the story of the book of Ruth.

In brief, Ruth gives birth to Obed, the great grandfather of King David. 

Remember these much loved verses:

 Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

For Ruth and her mother in law Naomi, life was as good as over. They literally had no means of survival in the culture in which they were living. Until, of course, Boaz stepped forward as their kinsman/redeemer.

For the Bride of Christ, it appears she has no means of survival, given the culture in which we are currently living. Nevertheless, I encourage you to take heart because Yeshua is going to step onto the world stage as our Kinsman/Redeemer and of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

The word picture behind reconciliation is: the measure revealed.

If you dig a little deeper you discover that the idea of measure is also linked in Hebrew to revealing the cloth you are clothed with. This cloth can be your human skin, a uniform you wear either literally or figuratively or your personal opinions (wearing your heart on your sleeve so to speak).

Yeshua linked this idea of measure with judgement.

Matthew 7:1-2 “Judge not, that you be not judged. “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Clearly, Yeshua desires that we not judge/measure each other by the colour of our skin, by our gender, by our socio economic status or by any other measure we may devise.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

What we may "measure" as a negative, in some one, actually has the potential to be redeemed and become a positive in the Body of Christ. That "measure", as it is changed from a human negative to a kingdom positive, becomes the key that opens the door to experiencing what it is to be built together in love.

Eph 4:15-16 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
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